Two

'Holiness is something so great and precious that one cannot pay too much for it.'

St. Claude de la Colombiere

'. . . The servant of Christ has nothing but Christ.'

St. Jerome

'A man ought to at all times be aware of the judgments of God.'

St. Agathon

'To do well and to feel that we do nothing well is a sign of deep humility.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'He who forgets himself in the service of God may be assured that God will not forget Him.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

'Blessed, says the royal prophet, is the man whose help is from thee: in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps in the vale of tears. . . They shall go from virtue to virtue." Happy the man who has resolved in his soul to mount the ladder of perfection: he shall receive abundant aid from God, and will ascend from virtue to virtue. Such has been the practice of the saints, and especially of St. Andrew Avellino, who even bound himself by vow "to advance continually in the way of Christian perfection." St. Teresa used to say, that "God rewards, even in this life, every good desire." It was by good desires that the saints arrived in a short time at a sublime degree of sanctity.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'You ought to be like a person who lets go and like one who gathers. You should let go of riches and gather virtues, let go of what will pass and gather eternal things, let go of visible things and gather invisible. In return for the pleasure of the body, I will give you the exultation of your soul; in return for the merriment of the world, I will give you the merriment of Heaven; in return for worldly honor, the honor of the angels; in return for the presence of family, the presence of God; in return for the possession of goods, I will give you myself, the giver and Creator of all things.'